Britain's prospects of meeting legally binding CO2 emissions targets have significantly improved after a government task force ruled that a complex technology which captures and stores carbon dioxide will be cost-effective on a large scale.

Ed Davey, the energy secretary, said the report paved the way for Britain to become a world leader in carbon capture and storage(CCS) technology, adding that "deployment at scale will bring investment and jobs".

CCS involves capturing carbon dioxide waste gas from power stations, liquefying it and storing it underground. The report, the first to confirm CCS is commercially viable, found coal and gas-fired power plants fitted with the technology could generate electricity at £88 to £106 per megawatt hour by 2020. This compares to £92-£103 for onshore wind, £139 for offshore wind, £85 for nuclear and £116-£122 for biomass.